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September 30, 2020 by Leonard J. French

Strike 3 Holdings Files Almost 140 Federal Cases in September

Strike 3 Holdings, one of the most prolific filers of copyright infringement cases, has been increasing the rate they file Federal copyright complaints, filing 139 in September alone. The cases are spread across the country, including California (13 cases), the District of Columbia (2 cases), Maryland (21 cases), New Jersey (18 cases), New York (54 cases), Pennsylvania (16 cases), and Virginia (15 cases).

The reason they can file so quickly is because each case is nearly identical. Strike 3 alleges that their investigators have recorded an IP address downloading Vixen, Tushy, and/or Blacked films through BitTorrent networks, and are now suing the internet subscribers for copyright infringement. The usually sue for dozens of infringements, with each worth a minimum of $750 in damages, which the Plaintiff can argue should be tripled for “willful” infringement. Even if only granted minimal damages, a defendant could be liable for tens of thousands of dollars if they don’t mount an effective defense.

Many of these cases represent an internet subscriber that has fought against Strike 3’s original subpoena in Miami-Dade county court through a Motion to Quash. Although Strike 3 initially dismisses this defendant from their complaint, they soon file a lawsuit in Federal court for a second subpoena. This time, the case is usually filed in the correct court, making another Motion to Quash a more complicated matter.

Strike 3 is notoriously aggressive in their pursuit of these cases. If you’ve received a notice from your internet service provider, such as Comcast, Frontier Communications, Optimum Online, RCN, Spectrum, or Webpass, please contact me. I can explain your options for defense and recommend the best way forward for your situation.

August 31, 2020 by Leonard J. French

Strike 3 Holdings Files Over 230 Federal Cases Across the Country

Strike 3 Holdings has filed 234 new Federal copyright infringement lawsuits across the country since mid-May, including in California (75 cases), Connecticut (3 cases), Florida (7 cases), Illinois (1 case), Maryland (27 cases), New Jersey (36 cases), New York (49 cases), Pennsylvania (17 cases), and Virginia (18 cases).

Each case is nearly identical. Strike 3 alleges that their investigators have recorded an IP address downloading Vixen, Tushy, and/or Blacked films through BitTorrent networks, and are now suing the internet subscribers for copyright infringement. Statutory damages are a minimum of $750 per infringement, which the Plaintiff can argue should be increased for “willful” infringement. Given that each case involves dozens, if not hundreds, of alleged infringements, even minimum damages can still be tens of thousands of dollars.

Many of these cases represent an internet subscriber that has fought against Strike 3’s original subpoena in Miami-Dade county court. Although Strike 3 initially dismisses this defendant from their complaint, they soon file a lawsuit in Federal court for a second subpoena. This time, the case is usually filed in the correct court, making another Motion to Quash a more complicated matter.

Strike 3 is notoriously aggressive in their pursuit of these cases. If you’ve received a notice from your internet service provider, such as Comcast, Frontier Communications, Optimum Online, RCN, Spectrum, or Webpass, please contact me. I can explain you options for defense and recommend the best way forward for your situation.

August 30, 2020 by Leonard J. French

Strike 3 Holdings Demands Nearly 600 Identities in August

Strike 3 Holdings continues to barrage the Miami-Dade county court with requests for subpoenas for the identities of internet subscribers they claim have downloaded their films through BitTorrent networks. Strike 3 Holdings owns the brands Vixen, Tushy, and Blacked. In August alone, they filed 6 complaints (called Bills of Pure Discovery) and listed 593 IP addresses from a variety of internet service providers from across the country, including AT&T U-verse, Comcast, Frontier Communications, Optimum Online, RCN, Spectrum, and Webpass. Almost half of the IP addresses listed are from California (285), with a mixture of defendants from Connecticut (15), Washington, DC (11), Florida (18), Illinois (36), Maryland (26), Michigan (29), New Jersey (46), New York (101), Pennsylvania (20), and Virginia (6).

These subpoenas are serious and the first step in initiating a Federal lawsuit. Typically Strike 3 Holdings has investigators that monitor an IP address for months or even years, documenting every BitTorrent download. They typically wait until enough infringements have accrued from an IP address to be worth significant damages. In August, the number of alleged infringements ranged from 24 to 342. The Plaintiff sees each infringement as worth $750 in statutory damages, although they may ask the court for more to punish “willful” infringement. If they win in court, they may also be awarded attorneys’ fees and court costs, which further adds to how expensive these cases can become.

Notably, Strike 3 is demanding these subpoenas through Florida county court, where they can take advantage of a little-known type of complaint called a Bill of Pure Discovery. Many defendants are tempted to file Motions to Quash in order to protect their identities from being released, arguing that the Miami-Dade court is not the proper venue for copyright actions nor for defendants outside of Florida. However, Strike 3 doesn’t seem to stop going after defendants that ask for a Motion to Quash and simply refile the lawsuit in Federal court and become more aggressive.

Sometimes, filing a Motion to Quash is still advantageous. I’ve defended hundreds of cases against Strike 3 Holdings across the country, both in negotiating settlements and litigating in court. If you’ve received a notice from Comcast Communications and you’re considering a Motion to Quash, settling, or fighting in court, please call us at 888.801.8681 or email. Please have your case number and IP address ready. We’re happy to explain your options for defense and recommend the best way forward.

July 19, 2020 by Leonard J. French

Strike 3 Holdings Demands Nearly 300 Identities

Strike 3 Holdings seems to have no shortage of potential defendants to their BitTorrent-based piracy lawsuits. On July 7th and 8th, Strike 3 Holdings filed 3 lawsuits with a total of 287 IP addresses identified from Atlantic Broadband, AT&T U-verse, Optimum Online, Spectrum, RCN, Comcast, and Webpass. Each IP address could become a defendant in a Federal copyright lawsuit if Strike 3 Holdings decides to pursue the case in court. They own the rights to the Vixen, Tushy, and Blacked brands of adult films and are prolific filers of copyright infringement lawsuits.

These subpoenas are serious and the first step in initiating a Federal lawsuit. Typically Strike 3 Holdings has investigators that monitor an IP address for months or even years, documenting every BitTorrent download. They typically wait until enough infringements have accrued from an IP address to be worth significant damages. In the 3 most recent lawsuits, the number of alleged infringements ranged from 25 to 383. The Plaintiff sees each infringement as worth $750 in statutory damages, which they may ask the court to treble to $2,250 for “willful” infringement. These are very expensive cases to lose in court.

Normally, Strike 3 would have to file a Federal lawsuit against each individual IP address, however, they have shifted strategy and are now using an obscure type of complaint in Florida’s Miami-Dade county court called a Bill of Pure Discovery. Many defendants are tempted to file Motions to Quash in order to protect their identities from being released, arguing that the Miami-Dade court is not the proper venue for copyright actions nor for defendants outside of Florida. For example, these 3 most recent lawsuits contain IP addresses geolocated to California, Michigan, Illinois, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Virginia, in addition to Florida. However, Strike 3 doesn’t seem to stop going after defendants that ask for a Motion to Quash and simply refile the lawsuit in Federal court and become more aggressive.

May 14, 2020 by Leonard J. French

Strike 3 Holdings Puts Pressure on Internet Subscribers by Filing Federal Lawsuits in Across the Country

As previously described, Strike 3 Holdings has filed requests for hundreds upon hundreds of internet subscribers’ identities based on bare bones allegations that their investigators observed IP addresses downloading Vixen, Tushy, or Blacked branded films through BitTorrent networks. They do this through a ‘Pure Bill of Discovery’ in Miami-Dade county court where the only relief they ask for is a subpoena for the internet subscriber’s identity. This is flawed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that Miami-Dade county court has no jurisdiction over copyright matters and most of the internet subscribers are not in Florida.

Many defendants have fought the improper subpoenas by filing Motions to Quash (a request for the court to cancel the subpoena) and are successful at first, as Strike 3 will drop the Defendant from that case. However, this may not be the end. Strike 3 Holdings has filed more than 80 Federal cases this year. Most cases have been filed in California (38 cases) and Florida (15 cases). Additional cases have been filed in New York (10 cases), Illinois (9 cases), New Jersey (6 cases), Michigan (3 cases), Nevada (3 cases), Connecticut (2 cases), and Virginia (1 case). Approximately half of these cases include a request for a subpoena to get the subscriber’s identity from their Internet Service Provider.

Since in half the cases Strike 3 already has the Defendant’s identity, this means this Plaintiff is aggressive whether defendants fight with a motion to quash or not.

Notably, Strike 3 is usually successful in receiving a second subpoena from Federal courts. However, there are some districts in which they have been denied. If you have received a notice from your ISP that Strike 3 has subpoenaed your identity or has filed a Federal lawsuit against you, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We can explain what the case means, your options for defense, and what we recommend in your situation. We focus on exactly this type of litigation and have defended people across the country. Please be ready with your case number and IP address associated with your case.

These cases are serious. Statutory copyright infringement damages are often calculated at $2,250 per infringement. We have experience defending against these new tactics and will be able to help explain what the case means, your options for defense, and recommend the best path forward for you.

May 9, 2020 by Leonard J. French

Strike 3 Holdings Subpoenas 278 Identities in California, Texas, New Jersey, and Maryland

Strike 3 Holdings has ramped up their efforts to uncover internet subscriber identities in order to demand settlements for alleged copyright infringement. They’ve filed three new Bills of Pure Discovery in Miami-Dade County court in Florida, listing a total of 278 IP addresses, with most of these subscribers from California (217) and Texas (61), although there were some located in New Jersey (3) and Maryland (5). The cases were directed at Comcast, Spectrum, and AT&T internet subscribers. Common cities targeted in California were Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose. Common cities targeted in Texas included Houston and Dallas.

Strike 3 submits nearly identical filings in each case, claiming that the subscribers behind the listed IP addresses have infringed on their copyrights by downloading Vixen, Tushy, and Blacked branded films through BitTorrent networks. They then ask the Miami-Dade County Court for relief in the form of subpoenas to uncover the subscriber’s identity. They then use this information to file Federal copyright lawsuits across the country if a settlement isn’t offered.

This is a new strategy. Previously, Strike 3 filed individual Federal lawsuits against each IP address. However, this was expensive, time consuming, and many cases didn’t result in a settlement. By asking a Miami-Dade court for subpoenas, they can ask for hundreds of identities at once, avoid the oversight of Federal courts, save money, and speed up the pace of demanding settlements.

If you have received a notice from your ISP that Strike 3 has subpoenaed your identity, don’t hesitate to contact us. We can explain what the case means, your options for defense, and what we recommend in your situation. We focus on exactly this type of litigation and have defended people across the country. Please be ready with your case number and IP address associated with your case.

One option is to file a Motion to Quash, which is a way to ask the court to cancel the subpoena. Without a Motion to Quash, your ISP is required to release your identity. Motions to Quash in Miami-Dade court generally argue a lack of jurisdiction because copyright cases belong in Federal courts in the district where the subscriber lives. However, filing a Motion to Quash in Florida may not be the end of the case and Strike 3 can become more demanding, filing a Federal lawsuit in the correct district to get their subpoena. In California, Federal Motions to Quash have had mixed results. If you are considering a Motion to Quash, please contact us without delay so we can explain the benefits and risks.

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